Dead March: 1

There is much to like and admire in this Civil War mystery debut. In Richmond, Va., in 1861, the coming conflict over secession seems inevitable. Narcissa Powers, whose son died soon after his birth and whose husband succumbed to consumption not long after that, is called from her nearby home to Richmond, where her brother, Charles, is a medical student. She arrives just in time to attend his deathbed and hear some fevered words about ""resurrection.'' A half-burned letter stuck in her Bible provides clues that Charley's death may not have been an accident. Her suspicions gradually fall on his medical teachers and on the practice of ""resurrecting"" recently buried corpses for medical students to use as cadavers. The sense of social isolation and legal inferiority enforced on women and blacks is forcefully captured as Narcissa circumspectly probes for the truth. Charley's death also troubles a black man whose friend, Judah Daniel, a freed black woman who is a healer and ""conjure woman,"" joins Narcissa in their quiet investigation. This highly auspicious debut is marked by McMillan's dexterous weaving of historical detail into a first-rate mystery plot and by her penetrating analysis of the era's Southern culture. Narcissa's reflections on and dealings with the limitations of gender and race imposed in her milieu are measured, credible and promising for further richly characterized tales in this series. (Sept.)